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The Friends Provident Trophy has reached the quarter-final stage with all four matches being played on Wednesday. Cricinfo takes a look at the four games and how the sides match up

Cricinfo staff03-Jun-2008
Graeme Swann is an important part of Nottinghamshire’s one-day success © Getty Images
Durham v Nottinghamshire, Chester-le-Street
The home side are coming off a fine victory against Sussex in the Championship so will be in high spirits as they continue the defence of their title. It was touch-and-go for a while as to whether they would even qualify from the North Division, but they found form at the right time. “This is an important week and we are getting down to the business end of the competition,” said Dale Benkenstein. “Ten days ago we had a mountain to climb but turned things around and now we are two games away from getting back to Lord’s. I think it suits us being at home and I think we are feared at home and playing this quarter-final at Riverside is a big advantage to us.”Nottinghamshire have had a few days off after not playing the last round of four-day games so will be fresh for the challenge. Will Jefferson is back in the squad and they have a deep batting order with Mark Ealham showing age hasn’t wearied him with bat or ball. Darren Pattinson, the Australian import, has been a revelation and is helping cover for the absence of Ryan Sidebottom and Stuart Broad with England.Kent v Somerset, Canterbury
Kent always had the makings of a side that could impress in one-day cricket this season, with so many allrounders that they often bat down to No. 9 or 10. The availability of Justin Kemp after his registration battle was a huge boost and his power-hitting gives the line-up a formidable appearance. In Yasir Arafat and Azhar Mahmood they also possess two of the finest death bowlers on the circuit.However, Somerset have played impressively in recent weeks with Championship wins against Kent and Surrey. The match against Kent went down to the wire as Joe Denly struck 149 before being trapped lbw by Charl Willoughby 21 runs short of victory. Somerset will still be without Andrew Caddick, but Alfonso Thomas has supplemented the attack alongside Willoughby and Steffan Jones. Ian Blackwell, in form with bat and ball, could well be their trump card.Leicestershire v Essex, Grace Road
Paul Grayson, the Essex coach, has backed his side to over the import-boosted Leicestershire side. The number of South Africans at Grace Road has caused plenty of debate in recent weeks, and there could be up to six on the team on Wednesday. “They have some good players and it’s no coincidence that their upturn in fortunes has come with six or seven South Africans in their squad,” Grayson said. “Whether you agree with it or not they have gone down the Kolpak route very heavily, which has led to a good start in the Championship and top place in their FPT group.Essex could field two Kolpaks – Grant Flower and Ryan ten Doeschate – while Danish Kaneria adds some spice to the spin attack. “We know we are a very good one-day side and can outplay anybody on our day. If we can play to our potential and do the basics right we know we’ll beat Leicestershire,” added Grayson.Gloucestershire v Yorkshire, Bristol
Bristol isn’t quite the one-day fortress it used to be, but Gloucestershire are still a tough side to beat on their home patch. Captain Jon Lewis has been named in the squad despite the shoulder problem he suffered against Warwickshire the Championship. The top-order is strong, with the power-hitting of Craig Spearman a potential match-winner, alongside the support of Hamish Marshall and Marcus North.Yorkshire are boosted by the return of Matthew Hoggard from his broken thumb, and it could be a rare one-day outing for him after he admitted he had issues with the white ball earlier in the season. However, Yorkshire have such a list of injuries to their attack that any experience will be welcome. Rana Naved-ul-Hasan is a long-term absentee, but it looks as though Darren Gough will patch himself up again after various “niggles” against Lancashire. Gough is desperate to finish his career with a Lord’s final, but this will be a tough test.

Tottenham Hotspur have been handed a boost in their bid to bring Takehiro Tomiyasu to the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium this summer.

What’s the talk?

That’s according to a report by Italian media outlet Calciomercato (via Sport Witness), who claim that Atalanta BC will be pulling out of the race to sign the Bologna FC 1909 centre-back, as the gap between the €20m (£17m) the La Dea are willing to pay for the defender and the €25m (£21.5m) Bologna are demanding to sanction his sale is not being closed in negotiations.

Tottenham Hotspur have also been linked with a move for the defender in recent days, with Fabio Paratici believed to have made a €20m (£17m) offer for the Japan international, and, with Atalanta appearing to be out of the race to sign the 22-year-old, Spurs could now have something of a free run at the centre-back.

Paratici will be buzzing

While the likes of Arsenal and West Ham United have both been credited with an interest in Tomiyasu this summer, the fact that an actively bidding rival in Atalanta have dropped out of the race for the defender’s signature is sure to have left Paratici buzzing.

While previously it had looked as if Tottenham could be drawn into something of a bidding war for the £18m-rated man, with the Serie A now out of the picture, the director of football finds himself in a much greater position of negotiating power for the centre-back who highly impressed in Italy last season.

Indeed, over his 31 Serie A appearances for Sinisa Mihajlovic’s side last term, Tomiyasu helped his team keep four clean sheets, as well as making an average of 1.7 interceptions, 1.5 tackles, 3.3 clearances and winning 5.4 duels per game.

The £13k-per-week defender also chipped in for Bologna going forwards, scoring two goals, as well as taking an average of 0.5 shots and making 0.3 key passes per league fixture.

These returns saw the man Mitchell Dijks dubbed a “warrior” earn a seasonal SofaScore match rating of 6.86, ranking him as I Rossoblu’s joint eighth-best performer in the top flight of Italian football.

As such, it would very much seem as if Tomiyasu would make a fantastic addition to Nuno Espirito Santo’s options in the heart of the Tottenham backline ahead of next season. Following the latest news regarding Atalanta’s withdrawal in the race for his signature, Spurs fans could well be seeing the Japanese star in action at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in the not so distant future.

In other news: Spurs dealt big blow over “important” £51.5m target, Levy will be fuming

West Bromwich Albion have been dealt a blow in their attempts to bring Trevoh Chalobah to The Hawthorns this summer.

What’s the talk?

That’s according to a claim made by the Express & Star journalist Joesph Masi, who revealed in a post on Twitter that a number of Premier League clubs have joined the race for the Chelsea midfielder.

It had previously been reported that the 22-year-old looked on course to complete a switch to the Championship side in the summer transfer window, however, in Masi’s latest article for the Express & Star, the journalist claims that Brentford, along with a number of other top-flight teams, are now also in the race for the former England U21 international.

Ismael will be livid

Considering that it very much looked as if West Brom had a deal for the defensive midfielder all but done, the fact that a number of other sides are now also reported to be in the race for the Chelsea youngster is sure to make Valerien Ismael livid.

Indeed, during a loan spell at FC Lorient, Chalobah proved that he boasts a considerable amount of talent, so, in all honesty, it is unsurprising to learn of interest in his services from the Premier League.

Over his 29 Ligue 1 appearances for the Ligue 1 side last season, the £3.15m-rated man made an average of 2.4 interceptions, 1.6 tackles, 1.9 clearances and won an impressive 5.2 duels per game.

The player Paul Lambert dubbed a “complete” midfielder also impressed in an attacking capacity, scoring two goals, providing two assists and creating one big chance for his teammates, as well as taking an average of 0.5 shots and making 0.3 key passes in each league appearance.

These returns saw the £12k-per-week man earn a seasonal SofaScore match rating of 6.87, ranking him as Christophe Pelissier’s joint fourth-best performer in the top flight of French football.

As such, getting a deal over the line for Chalobah this summer would have undoubtedly been a fantastic signing for Ismael, particularly considering the fact Chelsea are willing to let the midfielder leave for free, as well as the Frenchman’s current lack of options in the middle of the park at Albion.

However, with Brentford now firmly in the race for the youngster, the 45-year-old Baggies boss will have his work cut out in convincing the 22-year-old of a move to the Championship rather than the Premier League this summer.

In other news: Percy drops transfer update on “quality” £21k-p/w beast, West Brom fans surely buzzing

Ireland’s squad to face New Zealand and Scotland in the tri-series next week has been further depleted by the withdrawal of Eoin Morgan

Cricinfo staff27-Jun-2008
Eoin Morgan has chosen club ahead of country © Getty Images
Ireland’s squad to face New Zealand and Scotland in the tri-series next week has been further depleted by the withdrawal of Eoin Morgan.Yesterday Morgan confirmed to Paul Simmons, the Ireland coach, that he had made himself unavailable, prompting Ireland to call up Chris Doughtery, the Bready opening batsman.Ireland’s squad lacks depth. Along with Morgan, they will also miss William Porterfield and Niall O’Brien, both of whom have decided to stay with their counties, Gloucestershire and Northamptonshire. O’Brien has been keeping and opening the batting during the Twenty20 Cup, while Porterfield, who fielded as a substitute for England against New Zealand at Bristol, has found an opportunity in the Gloucestershire top order after injury to Craig Spearman.Ireland are to face New Zealand on July 1 followed by Scotland the next day.ODI squad Kyle McCallan (capt), Andre Botha, Peter Connell, Alex Cusask, Phil Eaglestone, Thinus Fourie, Gary Kidd, Chris Doughtery, Andrew Poynter, Paul Stirling, Reinhardt Strydom, Andrew White, Gary Wilson (wk)

Tottenham Hotspur have been linked with a move for Barcelona centre-back Clement Lenglet, but it would be a mistake by Fabio Paratici to sign him for Nuno Espirito Santo’s side this summer.

What’s the word?

According to Spanish news outlet Sport, Barcelona are keen to get rid of the Frenchman this summer as they look to reduce their staggering wage bill, and both Arsenal and Spurs are showing an interest in signing him.

The 25-year-old was a regular in Ronald Koeman’s side last season but struggled for consistent form, so it is no surprise that the Catalan side are keen to part ways with the centre-back as they look to significantly reduce their wage bill in order to meet the new salary cap in La Liga.

Would Lenglet be a good signing?

Although Lenglet has impressed in earlier seasons with Barcelona and Sevilla in the past, his performances last season do little to suggest that he would be a worthwhile addition to Nuno’s side ahead of next season.

In 33 La Liga appearances, the French international would average a less than impressive 6.59 rating from WhoScored for his performances, which was bettered by all of Spurs’ centre-back options other than young Joe Rodon.

Lenglet also emphasised last season that he struggles with concentration and makes mistakes as a result, as he conceded two penalties and made one error leading to a goal in the Spanish top-flight. Compare that to another underwhelming performer in Eric Dier who hasn’t made any official errors leading to a goal according to the Premier League website.

Considering the Englishman is often deemed one of the key weaknesses in Spurs’ defence, it would be a strange decision by Paratici to bring in someone such as Lenglet when he also looks to be very error-prone.

Given that Lenglet cost Barcelona £31.7m just three years ago, he wouldn’t be a cheap option for the north London club this summer, and therefore Spurs should definitely avoid bringing him in.

And, in other news… Hotspur Way news emerges on “perfect” £9m-rated wonderkid that will delight Spurs fans

Ireland defended their European Championship title with a comfortable seven-wicket victory against Scotland at Clontarf

Cricinfo staff31-Jul-2008
Scorecard and ball-by-ballIreland defended their European Championship title with a comfortable seven-wicket victory against Scotland at Clontarf. Surrey wicketkeeper Gary Wilson hit 51 and Andre Botha an unbeaten 47 as Ireland cruised to their D/L target with 19 balls to spare.Rain delayed the start – and also interrupted both innings – reducing the match to 35 overs per side. Scotland made an impressive start as Gavin Hamilton and Ryan Watson added 60 in eight overs, but from there they fell apart. Alex Cusack began the collapse, but the main problems were caused by Kyle McCallan who claimed 3 for 10 in his seven overs.He had Watson, who hit 50 off 44 balls, and Colin Smith stumped off nicely flighted deliveries and trapped Majid Haq lbw on the back foot. The total limped past 150, but it was always unlikely to be enough.John Blain struck early to remove William Porterfield for 1 but Scotland couldn’t make enough early inroads. Wilson hit six boundaries in his 66-ball innings and Botha scored at better than a run-a-ball to complete a satisfying day. Ireland will now head into the World Twenty20 Qualifiers in good spirits.Denmark’s final game against Netherlands at The Hills was washed out without a ball bowled.

Signing Chelsea midfielder Billy Gilmour would have been “a good piece of business” for Newcastle United this summer, the club’s former player Steve Howey exclusively told Football FanCast.

Gilmour is currently on loan at Norwich City for the season but was linked with a move to St. James’ Park prior to linking up with Daniel Farke’s side.

According to The Northern Echo, Newcastle were keen on both Gilmour and Tammy Abraham as they looked to do business with Chelsea.

In the end, though, Gilmour opted for Norwich, while Newcastle are now being linked with another young Chelsea midfielder in Conor Gallagher.

The Athletic reports that the Magpies are interested in signing the 21-year-old, though they face stiff competition from Premier League rivals Leeds United and Crystal Palace.

Howey, however, has made it clear that Gilmour is the one he really wanted to see at St. James’ Park.

“A good piece of business would have been the other lad, Gilmour,” the ex-Newcastle central defender said as he discussed the speculation surrounding Gallagher. “He would have been a great piece of business.

“Now, without being disrespectful to Norwich, you’d have thought Newcastle would have been a great option for him.”

Newcastle have also missed out on recent target Mario Lemina following his move from Southampton to Nice, so reinforcing the midfield is proving to be a tricky task for Steve Bruce this transfer window.

SLC agreed to back date the players’ contract payments from March 1, 2008. The players will sign their contracts next week

Sa'adi Thawfeeq10-Jul-2008
All smiles: The contracts issue has been sorted out © AFP
The contract dispute between Sri Lanka Cricket and their players’ association has been resolved after a meeting between the SLC interim committee hierarchy, chaired by Arjuna Ranatunga, the Sri Lanka Cricketers’ Association (SLCA) officials and the team.Under the new contracts, the annual retainers for senior team players remains the same, but there are raises for junior players in the national squad and substantial increases for A team players. Match fees for Tests, ODIs and Twenty20s have also been increased. Players will continue to be allowed to have media contracts and they agreed to play a minimum of 75% of the provincial tournaments.SLCA secretary Graeme Labrooy said that the meeting was cordial and that all issues pertaining to the contracts were resolved amicably.”To be frank there were no issues at all because everything was resolved peacefully in a cordial atmosphere,” Labrooy said. “The new pay slabs for the players were also approved by SLC. There was a good response from both sides.”SLC also agreed to back date the players’ contract payments from March 1, 2008,” he said. “The players will sign their contracts next week.”Meanwhile, SLCA president Sidath Wettimuny resigned ahead of Thursday’s meeting to play a more active role as a member of the SLC interim committee. Labrooy said former PCA president Pramodya Wickramasinghe, who is currently vice-president, would act as president until next March when the AGM is scheduled to be held.

Lots of Wolves fans have been left lauding a transfer update involving Joaquin Correa.

As per Il Messaggero, the Molineux faithful are one of a number of teams in the Premier League interested in signing the Lazio ace, along with Tottenham Hotspur, Everton, Arsenal and Leicester City.

They are reportedly already in talks with his agent over a potential move to the Midlands, and Lazio are looking to move him on in order to raise funds for incomings.

Correa has come off the back of a very impressive 2020/21 season, scoring no fewer than 11 goals and making a further six assists in 38 games in total over all competitions, including in the UEFA Champions League (Transfermarkt).

The Argentina international is just about to hit his peak years at 26, and would certainly be a big coup for the Wanderers should they be able to fend off all of the competition for his signature.

Wolves fans on Correa transfer update

These WWFC supporters lauded the transfer update as it was shared on Twitter, with one even going as far as to claim that he would be a ‘perfect’ signing:

“Would be a class signing”

Credit: @jacobbwwfc

“Sign him uppp”

Credit: @wwfcswayy

“@Wolves @Fosun_Intl do it. Do it now!”Credit: @XXXTANNERTACION”ON MY KNEEEES but I’d still like a CB pls Jeff”Credit: @adwwfc”Would be the perfect player to play the “Joao Felix Role” absolute limbs if Jeff pulls it off”Credit: @Finsabu”What a signing this would be. Primarily a second striker who likes to get heavily involved in play, he’s extremely creative (4.1 shot-creating actions p90), a great progressive passer and carrier, and a decent goal scorer. Him + Raul up front would be incredible. #wwfc #Wolves”Credit: @SamJGollingsIn other news, find out transfer news has Wanderers talking here!

Although official confirmation had proved hard to come by, Cricinfo has learned that Robin Brown has been fired from his position as national coach by Zimbabwe Cricket

Steven Price in Harare07-Aug-2008Although official confirmation had proved hard to come by, Cricinfo has learned that Robin Brown has been fired from his position as national coach by Zimbabwe Cricket. Brown’s contract expires at the end of August and sources say he has been told that it won’t be extended beyond that.Andy Pycroft, the Zimbabwe A coach, has also been dismissed in a controversial shake-up which could leave Zimbabwe Cricket struggling to fill the voids.It appears that the strong influence of the Takashinga, a club with strong links to both the Zimbabwe board and the ruling Zanu-PF regime, has played a major part in the decision. The faction never got along with Brown on a personality level, it its feared his sacking owed more to that than outright cricketing reasons.It is rumoured that Steven Mangongo, a leading Takashinga official with few cricketing credentials, has been appointed as an interim replacement for Brown.The group accused Brown of favouring certain white players, an accusation which has been refuted by some national team players. The Zimbabwe cricket team is dominantly black and the few white players who have remained are actually key players.”Axes were always being sharpened for Brown barely days into the job,” said an insider. “This is one of the indistinct circumstances a coach has been fired. There is a certain power-hungry group which controls Zimbabwe Cricket from outside the top brass. Unfortunately we have a meek administration so they are easily controlled by them.”Brown was unavailable for comment nor was anyone from the board. One former player said that Brown’s departure raised issues over who would succeed him. “All the home-grown candidates have either been tried or turned their backs,” he said. “Nobody with any credibility from overseas would touch the job, so you wonder who on earth they will turn to.”